Help HOPE bring clean water to Chano Dorga

We are pleased to report that work has started in Chano Dorga on their new water and sanitation project, thanks to donors like you!

For the Chano Dorga community of 3,942 men, women and children, it has been a very busy few months.  Due to the timescale of other HOPE projects in southern Ethiopia,  the project start date for this comprehensive project was moved forward by three months and officially started in October 2018.  Therefore, under the guidance of HOPE staff, the community has been busy providing much of the labour to build their new water and sanitation system. For example, one fresh water spring has been capped and one water tank has now been built, with plans to cap another spring and build a second water tank underway.  Similarly, just over half of the 15 water points have been built around the village in agreed locations to provide easy and fair access to all members of the community.  

Additionally, 3.2 km of the lengthy 14.3 km pipeline has been dug and is being prepared for the pipes to be laid that will deliver the clean water to the village.  This is much longer than most of HOPE's typical water pipelines and has contributed to the high budget and lengthy timescale for approval by the local government for this particular project.  However, the long wait has made the local people even more desperate to end their dangerous and lengthy daily walk for water and more motivated to help HOPE complete their new water system.  It is estimated that the construction will be completed in the end of February due their hard work and serious commitment.

However, as per the plan developed in conjunction with the local government, HOPE's work in Chano Dorga is expected to continue until September 2020.  A HOPE staff member will continue to live and work in the community facilitating health education for another 18 months to allow adequate time for changes in hygiene and sanitation behaviours to be embedded.  In addition, the follow-up investment of teaching women basic business skills and applied savings and lending principles within a Self Help Group structure of 20 women in 20 different self-governing groups, will run for this period as well.  Both are key to building a critical foundation for improving each household's health and income and ultimately the community's future development and prosperity.  To date, 19 of these Self Help Groups have been established and the health education of the community is in its beginning stages, with 10% of the community having received HOPE’s health instruction within their homes.  Similarly, 9% of local households, using HOPE’s suggested guidelines, have built their own pit latrine.  

To fund the remaining work, HOPE UK has recently received grants totalling £17,500 from supportive Trusts.  Until all aspects of HOPE's work have been delivered, we will continue to fundraise for the final 20% of the budget.

Since 1984, HOPE has been working in Ethiopia and has helped more than 270,000 people gain access to clean water by constructing or improving more than 130 water supply systems in the region.   Thank you for playing your part in transforming yet one more community with life-changing clean water in 2019.  

Links:

• A video showing a moving example of HOPE's work in Ethiopia

The people of Chano Dorga are getting an unexpected surprise!  For generations, they have endured having to walk hours each day to access water, but soon that journey will end.  HOPE had been planning to start work in Chano Dorga in 2019, but recent changes in the timescale of other HOPE Water and Sanitation Projects in Ethiopia have meant that this project has been brought forward to start this month, in October 2018.  Finally, their wait is nearly over!!

As a result, our HOPE partners in Canada have met the initial costs for the first quarter (£239,223), when all of the materials will be purchased. HOPE UK has, therefore, committed to raise the necessary funds for the remaining portion of the project (approx £118,799 with latest currency exchange rates).  This is a very large sum for a small charity to raise, but as HOPE’s projects have moved into increasingly challenging locations, the costs for providing water and sanitation have correspondingly increased.   For example, for this project, the nearest spring is nearly 15km away, driving up the costs of materials and time required.   

The construction of this water system will take six months, while most capacity building (the health education and Self Help Group training, teaching basic business skills to 400 women) will continue for two years, as per the plan developed in conjunction with the local government.  

As one of our core values is sustainability, HOPE has now met with the community at the project launch and has reiterated what is expected of them.  It is essential that each community that HOPE agrees to work with provides much of the labour required to build the water system and dig the pipeline for the delivery of clean water, but they also contribute needed local materials to the project (timber, sand, gravel, etc.).  In addition, HOPE provides training and support to the locally elected Water Users Association (of which 50% are women) who manage the water system and to the local Water Caretakers (also 50% women) who maintain the system.  HOPE sees it asvitally important to provide thorough training to leaders from amongst the project’s beneficiaries, so that they can maintain and manage the system using their own knowledge and skills before HOPE moves on to work with another neighbouring community.

Therefore, we are grateful for your support of our work to bring access to clean water to this community of 3,942 people.  Obviously, we are working hard to meet our fundraising target by running fundraising events, applying to Trusts and Foundations and discussing the needs to Chano Dorga with our long-time supporters.  We hope you will also consider giving to this project again and sharing our stories of lives changed with access to clean water to your friends, family and colleagues.  

Thank you again.